New Arrivals Easy Reader, Juvenile and Young Adult Fiction and Juvenile Non-fiction!

We have added several titles to the Easy, Juvenile, and Young Adult Fiction and Juvenile Non-fiction Sections located downstairs in the library. Titles are listed by section and alphabetically by author last name within the section. We hope you'll take the time to check out these new titles the next time you're in the library!

Easy Fiction
Happy Birthday, Monster! by Scott Beck; E/Bec

The Magic Rabbit by Annette LeBlanc Cate; E/Cat

The 12 Bugs Of Christmas by Troy Schmidt; E/Sch

Abracadabra! Magic With Mouse And Mole by Wong Herbert Yee; E/Yee

Juvenile Fiction
Elijah Of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis; J/Fic/Cur

Maybelle In The Soup by Katie Speck; J/Fic/Spe

Young Adult Fiction
Cassandra's Sister: Growing Up Jane Austen by Veronica Bennett; YA/Fic/Ben

Book Of A Thousand Days by Shannon Hale; YA/Fic/Hal

Juvenile Non-fiction
Rocket Babies And Other Amazing Marsupials by Sneed B. Collard III; J/599.2/Col

The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen

I've read all the books in Tess Gerritsen's Dr. Maura Isles (an M.E. for Boston) and Det. Jane Rizzoli series. The series focusses on two women who solve mysteries and fight crime; books in the series tend to take turns on who is the focus of the action. For example, one book might have Isles at center stage, while the next one has Rizzoli at center stage. The Bone Garden, Gerritsen's most recent book, is actually a stand alone novel, though it does feature a cameo appearance by Isles at the beginning of the book.

The action flips back and forth between the present and 1830. In the present a woman named Julia is trying to fit together the pieces of a hundred year old series of murders and solve the mystery of the old bones found buried in the back yard of her new house. The majority of the action takes place in 1830 in Boston where the aforementioned series of murders is in full swing; it is up to two medical students and a recent Irish immigrant to Boston named Rose to solve the murders.

The novel is fast paced and a quick read of a page turner. There are also parallel love stories woven throughout the present and the past parts of the story. While the love story that takes place in the past is well developed and adds to the drama, the love story that takes place in the present seems superficial and out of place because we spend so little time with the story in the present. In the end we are not as invested with the characters that populate the present as we are with those that populate 1830 Boston. This is a good read for any fan of Tess Gerritsen as well as those who enjoy historical mysteries.

This book is available upstairs in adult fiction at Fic/Ger; it is currently shelved in New Arrivals section next to the water fountain. It is also available upon request from Annville Free Library, Lebanon Community Library, Myerstown Community Library, and Palmyra Public Library.

--reviewed by Ms. Angie

Spotlight On Tea Party!

This isn't necessarily a review, more like a spotlight on a fun, new title that has recently been added to our collection here at the Matthews Public Library. I was excited to preview it before it went out on shelf. Members of the Northern Lebanon Area Friends of The Library may find this title especially helpful since they started the tradition of the annual tea party held at least once year in one of the upstairs classrooms as a fundraiser for the library. Admission for the most recent one was $5, and it featured a live reading of poetry.

Tea Party: 20 Themed Tea Parties With Recipes For Every Occasion, From Fabulous Showers To Intimate Gatherings by Tracy Stern with Christie Matheson.

Sample themed tea parties include a Morrocan Valentine's Day Dinner, a Mother's Day Tea, and a Proper Afternoon Tea. Ideas include guidance on invitations, decorations, menus, recipes, and favors. The book features beautiful photos, creative ideas, helpful hints, and simple recipes.

This book can be located at the Matthews Library; it is currently shelved with New Arrivals upstairs next to the water fountain. The call number is 641.536/Ste. I hope you'll check it out!

--written by Ms. Angie

In The Woods by Tana French

"What I warn you to remember is that I am a detective. Our relationship with the truth is fundamental, but cracked, refracting confusingly like fragmented glass. It is the core of our careers, the endgame of every move we make, and we pursue it with strategies painstakingly constructed of lies ... and every variation on deception. The truth is the most desirable woman in the world and we are the most jealous lovers, reflexively denying anyone else the slightest glimpse of her. We betray her routinely ... This is my job ... What I am telling you, before you begin my story, is this--two things: I crave truth. And I lie."

opening lines of In The Woods chapter 1, pages 3-4

In The Woods by Tana French, an Irish writer, is an extremely well-written and well-crafted mystery novel. The downside is that this is French's debut novel, and her website (located at http://www.tanafrench.com/) does not offer any insight as to when we might expect a follow up.

In The Woods contains two parallel mysteries. The first involves the main character and narrator, Rob Ryan, who went into the woods one day many years ago with two childhood friends. The children are missing, a search ensues, and the only one found is Ryan, who is discovered clinging to a tree with blood soaked feet. His two friends are never seen nor heard from again, and their fates are shrouded in mystery. Ryan suffers amnesia regarding exactly what happened in those woods to him and his friends on that long ago day. This traumatic experience and the fact that the mystery of his friends' fates was never solved haunts Ryan into adulthood and taints his relationships and friendships.

The second mystery emerges in the present day when a girl is brutally murdered and her body dumped on an archaeological dig site in Ryan's hometown on the edge of the woods in which his friends disappeared. Are these two mysteries connected by more than just mere geography? This is the question that haunts Ryan throughout the novel, and he struggles to solve this present day murder (he is a homicide detective) and force his mind to give up the memories of what happened in that same wood several years previous. He realizes almost too late that both mysteries threaten more just the case and his career--they also threaten his relationship with his partner and his life as he knows it. Before he can do anything to stop the downward slide he has begun, everything quickly and irrevocably spirals out of control.

The novel is well written with an interesting and unusual setting in Dublin, Ireland that quickly becomes a character in its own right in the novel. You won't be able to put this book down, and I hope you'll take the time to check it out. It is available here at the library and is located at Fic/Fre upstairs in adult fiction. It is currently being shelved in the New Arrivals section next to the water fountain.

--Reviewer Ms. Angie

Premonitions by Jude Watson

Today we have a guest reviewer contributing to "A Series of (Un)Fortunate Reviews" and her name is Samantha; she's been volunteering here at the library for the past few weeks. She is reviewing Premonitions by Jude Watson.

This book is incredible. It is about a young girl named Gracie whose mother has recently died. After her mother dies, Gracie starts having premonitions. I think that this is a good book because it goes through Gracie’s mind and shows her feelings and expressions about her mother’s death. This book has many fantastic adventures.

If you would like to read this book you can request it from Annville Free Library or Lebanon Community Library.

-Reviewer Samantha

Meet Julie by Megan McDonald

Hey, all you American Girl fans, Meet Julie by Megan McDonald is the first of six stories about an American Girl named Julie Albright.

The year is 1974. Julie is a nine year old girl who lives in San Francisco, CA, and she's about to experience a lot of changes in her life. Some of these changes include her parents' divorce, changing schools, and moving away from her best friend, Ivy Ling. Meet Julie takes you on a journey with Julie as she learns that she needs to take control of her life and take a stand for what she believes in.

In the back of the book the author has a section called "Looking Back: America in the 1970's." This section explains some of the historical events and movements that took place in the 1970's.

Other titles in this series are:

Julie Tells Her Story

Happy New Year, Julie

Julie and the Eagles

Julie's Journey

Changes For Julie

They can all be found at J/Fic/Mcd

You might also like to try another new American Girl book called Good Luck, Ivy located at J/Fic/Kee.

--Reviewed by Kathy

New Arrivals In Juvenile Fiction!

We have a new series of titles to our Juvenile Fiction section. All these titles are part of the Raindbow Magic: The Jewel Fairies series written by Daisy Meadows.

Titles are listed alphabetically. The call number for all these titles is J/Fic/Mea.

Chloe the Topaz Fairy

Emily the Emerald Fairy

India the Moonstone Fairy

Scarlett the Garnet Fairy

New Arrivals In Easy Reader Fiction And Juvenile/Easy Reader Non-Fiction!

We have new titles to Easy Reader Fiction, Juvenile Non-fiction, and Easy Reader Non-fiction. We hope you'll check out these titles on your next visit to the library.

Titles are listed alphabetically; call number is listed at the end.

Easy Reader Fiction

The Best Place To Read by Debbie Bertram; E/Ber

Groundhog Day by Betsy Lewin; E/Lew

I Want To Be Somebody by Robert Lopshire; E/Lop

The Snowman Storybook by Raymond Briggs; E/Bri

Easy Reader Non-fiction

Germs! Germs! Germs! by Bobbi Katz; E/616.01/Kat

Juvenile Non-fiction

Dirt by Steve Tomecek; J/631.4/Tom

Everything Bird: What Kids Really Want To Know About Birds by Cherie Winner; J/598/Win

A Log's Life by Wendy Pfeffer; J/574.526/Pfe

Charlie Parker Series by John Connolly

We have uploaded yet another taped review to our YouTube channel located at http://youtube.com/matthewslibrary. This review discusses a series of books featuring Maine private investigator, Charlie Parker. It is written by the wickedly talented John Connolly. You can view the video here.






The video features interviewer, Ms. Natalie, a former library assistant, and the reviewer for this installment is Ms. Angie. We hope you'll check out this video, and perhaps give the featured titles a try.

The titles in the series are as listed below:

Every Dead Thing is located here at Matthews and also available upon request from Annville Free Library, Palmyra Public Library.

Dark Hollow is currently only available upon request through Interlibrary Loan (ILL).

The Killing Kind is available upon request from Lebanon Community Library.

The White Road is available upon request from Palmyra Public Library.

The Black Angel is available upon request from Annville Free Library and Lebanon Community Library.

The Unquiet is located here at Matthews and also available upon request from Annville Free Library.

The Reaper is coming to a bookstore and hopefully a library near you in June 2008.

--Interviewer Ms. Natalie/Reviewer Ms. Angie

Disturbia and Transformers

This review is two-fer because both films, Disturbia and Transformers, star the actor Shia LeBeouf. Both films were nearly wall-to-wall thrills and action.

Disturbia is about a troubled teenage boy who is under house arrest. Throughout the course of his house arrest, he must come up with ways to entertain himself after his mother shuts off his Xbox and iTunes accounts and disables his TV. Unfortunately, he never heard of picking up a book and READING because he turns to voyeurism to overcome his boredom. He spies on various neighbors, observing their secrets and eventually comes to suspect that one of them is a serial killer. Thrills, chills, and even laughs ensue as the boy and two of his friends embark on an unlikely, but highly entertaining and very intense, mission to prove that this neighbor is indeed who they suspect he is... or is he? I highly recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys thrillers, psychological suspense, mystery, drama, and heart stopping action. David Morse, Carrie-Ann Moss (of Matrix trilogy fame), and Sarah Roemer also star alongside the aforementioned Shia LeBeouf.

Transformers is the second flick that also stars LeBeouf. Some of you may be familiar with the cartoon of the same name; perhaps you played with the toys as a kid or maybe you remember the movies of the same name from the 1980's. I think there are supposed to be Transformers comics as well. This isn't a remake of the cartoon or either of the movies. And honestly, I wasn't sure what to think this movie would be when I heard they were making it. I was ready to write it off; I mean, it is a movie about cars and machines that "transform" into Autobots and Decepticons that battle each other for the fate of the All Spark and planet Earth. The rendering of the Autobots and Decepticons is surprisingly... realistic [not really the right word, but close enough]. And the movie packs in the pulse pounding action--it literally doesn't stop until the end of the movie. The movie skillfully laces humor throughout action. This movie also stars Josh Duhamel (of Las Vegas and day time drama fame), Tyrese Gibson, and Megan Fox.

As a result of these two movies, I've decided that I am on my way to becoming a big fan of Shia LeBeouf. Unfortunately, he was arrested for trespassing in a drugstore this weekend. The headline read "bizarre." Just a little bit. Hopefully, he is not on his way to becoming another young Hollywood train wreck. I have my fingers crossed.

Disturbia is available for check out upon request from Annville Free Library. Transformers can be found in our own DVD section at DVD/335; it is also available upon request from Annville Free Library.

--reviewer Ms. Angie

PostSecret by Frank Warren

This will be a fairly unique review as it will span a blog, books, and a museum exhibition. Scratch that because I've just had a burst of inspiration--it's our first review of a phenomenon! This phenomenon is called PostSecret, and it was created by a man in MD named Frank Warren. Basically it began with a postcard campaign in which Warren distributed blank postcards in public places asking folks who found these postcards to write a secret on it and mail it in to him anonymously. The movement began with only a few hundred to a couple thousand postcards distributed by Warren himself and quickly exploded nationally and internationally. I believe that Warren has received upwards of hundreds of thousands of postcards from anonymous people divulging their most private secrets and wishes. You can see a sample postsecret above; I thought this one especially appropriate considering Fredericksburg's status as "Chicken Capital Of The World."

Every Sunday Warren posts a new batch of postsecrets (postcard secrets) on his blog located at http://postsecret.com/. He receives so many postcards that not all of them make it up on the site. He has published several volumes of postsecrets that have made appearances on the site as well as many that have never before been published. There is also a travelling PostSecret Exhibition that was featured one summer a couple years ago at the Reading Public Museum for which I rounded up a group of friends to make the trip to view the exhibit.

These postsecrets are creative works of art that are cute, tragic, heartbreaking, witty, clever, funny, and searingly honest. The blog itself can become addictive as you wait for each Sunday to come so you can view the new batch of postsecrets. I know I check it out every week.

There are currently four PostSecret books, and I'm sure Warren will continue publishing more:

PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions From Ordinary Lives [available at Lebanon Community Library]

My Secret: A PostSecret Book [available at Lebanon Community Library]

The Secret Lives Of Men And Women: A PostSecret Book [available at Lebanon Community Library]

A Lifetime Of Secrets: A PostSecret Book

The first three titles are available for check out or request from Lebanon Community Library. The last title is not available in county. As it was just published in October of this year, it will not be available for Interlibrary Loan requests until six months after its publication date. I encourage you to check out both the blog and the books that are available in county!

--reviewed by Ms. Angie